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A closer look at some of the stat leaders for the 2022-23 pga tour season, share this article.

The Tour Championship is in the rearview mirror and with that, the PGA Tour has closed the book on its statistics for the 2022-23 season. If you’ve been to the Tour’s stats page, you know it’s a rabbit hole where golf nerds can spend hours exploring the numbers.

There are plenty of eye-popping numbers, including the massive increase in earnings, but many will use these stats to determine the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year.

For example, Jon Rahm had the most wins (4), with Viktor Hovland winning the final two stops of the year to finish second with three victories. There were seven others, including Scottie Scheffler, another POY candidate, with two wins.

But it was Scheffler who dominated many of the Tour’s stats this season. He finished first in the Official World Golf Ranking, FedEx Cup regular-season standings, Ryder Cup standings as well as all of these categories:

• Shots gained: Off the tee
• Shots gained: Approach the green
• Shots gained: Tee-to-green
• Shots gained: Total
• Greens in regulation percentage

Scoring average

• Bogey avoidance

Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting statistical leaders on the PGA Tour for the 2022-23 season. Many of these will seem obvious, but there’s probably a few here that are surprising.

Driving distance

Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship TPC Southwind. (Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

Rory McIlroy won his third driving title this season (he also won in 2017, 2018), as he averaged 326.3 yards per drive. That’s more than 5.1 yards per drive longer than the next guy on the list, Brandon Matthews (321.2). It’s also the longest since the Tour started keeping the stat in 1980. Bryson DeChambeau’s 323.7 yards per drive in 2021 was the previous mark and McIlroy topped that by nearly three yards. Cameron Young (316.9), Cameron Champ (316.1) and Matti Schmid (315.8) round out the top five.

The PGA Tour average for driving distance is 299.9. There were 92 golfers who averaged more than 300 yards per drive.

Source: pgatour.com

Driving accuracy

Russell Henley plays from the 18th tee during the final round of the 2023 Wyndham Championship. (Photo: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports)

While Rory McIlroy was tops in driving distance, he was 157th in driving accuracy.

Russell Henley led the stats in the accuracy category, as he hit 71.74 percent of fairways during the season. Out of 1,118 possible fairways, Henley hit 802 of them. He was the only one over 70 percent for the year.

Collin Morikawa was next at 69.55 percent. Nos. 3 through 5 on this list are Ryan Moore, Aaron Rai, Ryan Armour.

Source: pgatour.com .

Greens in regulation

Scottie Scheffler plays a shot on the third hole during the first round of the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson. (Photo: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports)

Scheffler led the Tour in GIR at 74.47 percent after hitting 1,126 greens out of 1,512 holes played. Nos. 2 through 5 on this list: Kevin Yu (72.96), Doug Ghim (70.56), Jon Rahm (70.48) and Collin Morikawa (70.47).

Putting average

Taylor Montgomery lines up a putt for par on the 14th hole during round one of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Alex Gould/The Republic)

Taylor Montgomery had the top putting average with 1.659 with Sam Ryder, Eric Cole, Max Homa and Sahith Theegala right behind. The Tour average was 1.765. Montgomery also led putts per round with 27.13. Maverick McNealy was first in SG: Putting at 1.058.

Most eagles

Kevin Tway plays from the sixth fairway during the first round of the 2023 RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina. (Photo: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports)

Kevin Tway led the way with 18 eagles. The Tour average was two.

• Kevin Tway, 18
• Taylor Montgomery, 16
• Lee Hodges, 15
• Jon Rahm, 15
• Ryan Brehm, 14
• Hayden Buckley, 14
• Wyndham Clark, 14
• Vincent Norrman, 14
• Brandon Wu, 14

Most birdies

Eric Cole waves to fans after making a birdie on the eighth green during the second round of the 2023 Travelers Championship. (Photo: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

The Tour average was 90. Eric Cole was way above that average in the most birdies category as he collected 438 of them. Stephan Jaeger (434) Wyndham Clark (419), Ben An (418) and Sungjae Im (413) round out the top five.

Scottie Scheffler has a laugh before teeing off at the first hole during the third round of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis. (Photo: Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal)

Scottie Scheffler was anything but average as he posted 68.629 for the season. Rory McIlroy (68.777) was not far behind. Those were the only two to go sub-69 for the season. Jon Rahm (69.037) was third with Xander Schauffele (69.083) fourth and Viktor Hovland (69.123) fifth.

Notable is that Scheffler played 88 Tour rounds this season, 24 more than McIlroy and 17 more than Rahm.

The Tour average was 71.091.

Brian Harman plays a shot from a bunker on the 12th hole on Day Two of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 21, 2023, in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Brian Harman, Champion Golfer of the Year after winning his first major at the 2023 Open Championship, led this category at 67.74 percent.

The Tour average was 58.45.

Jonathan Byrd (66.35) was second to Harman, while Matt Kuchar (65.76) was third. J.J. Spaun (65.74) and Tommy Fleetwood (65.47) are fourth and fifth, respectively.

Jon Rahm and his caddie, Adam Hayes, stand with the Masters trophy during the green jacket ceremony at the 2023 Masters. (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Network)

Rahm won four times, which was twice as many as the next guys on this list unless Viktor Hovland won this third in the season-ending Tour Championship. Rahm won two signature events and a major, his second career major, at the Masters. There were seven golfers with two wins each.

Non-member earnings

Brooks Koepka celebrates after winning the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. (Photo: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports)

On a list mostly filled with LIV golfers who earned official money at the 2023 majors, PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka is No. 1 with $5,057,192.

Scottie Scheffler holds up the 2023 Players Championship trophy at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo: Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union)

Scheffler set the mark for most money earned in a single season during the 2021-22 campaign with more than $14 million.

This season, thanks to two victories, in particular the Players Championship, and his 15 top 10s, Scheffler went over the $20 million mark, the first-ever to do so. To be exact, he made $21,014,342 .

Add up just his last two seasons and Scheffler has banked more than $35 million dollars. His career total is $40 million.

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The top 100 players on the PGA Tour, ranked

How did the PGA Tour's best players spend their "winter breaks?" Relaxing? Working on their games? A little of both? These are the questions we'll be asking beginning at this week's Sentry Tournament of Champions, as the tour resumes the 2021-22 season in Maui. Ahead of that, our Golf Digest staff spent its winter break coming up with our second annual ranking of the top 100 players on tour. To gather our list, we looked through the prism of what we expect from players in 2022 while acknowledging their form and feats from the recent past. Below is our collective answer.

For clarification, this list is specific to those who play on the PGA Tour. This is why you won’t see players like Victor Perez or Min Woo Lee, both fine talents who spend most of their time on the the European Tour. Obviously a handful of players compete on multiple circuits; we judged these jump balls as best we could.

Here then are the top 100 players on the PGA Tour, from No. 100 to the top spot.

100. Andrew Landry

Age: 34 / owgr (as of jan. 3, 2022): 187 / ’22 fedex cup (entering sentry toc): 40.

Landry came out on the business end of the 2020-21 “super season,” missing the cut in half of his starts and turning in a lone top-25 finish. Four MCs in six fall starts doesn’t look much better. But top-10s in those two made cuts this past autumn (T-4 at Sanderson Farms, T-7 at Mayakoba) give hope that a turnaround is ‘round the corner. — Joel Beall

99. Taylor Pendrith

Age: 30 / owgr: 229 / ’22 fedex cup: 47.

Canadian rookie has one of the most impressive moves you’ll see anywhere—think Matthew Wolff meets Jim Furyk, with 190-mph ball speed. There’s a good chance he finishes top five in driving distance when the dust settles. —Dan Rapaport

98. Jason Day

Age: 34 / owgr: 126 / ’22 fedex cup: 196.

It seems like eons since the talented but injury-prone Aussie was one of the most dominant players in golf. Coming off his worst season since 2012, when he hadn’t yet fully rounded into the form that made him a force in 2015-16, Day appears at a crossroads at age 34. Just four top-10s dotted an unremarkable season that saw him fail to reach the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time. He has fallen out of the top 100 in the world, and most of his struggles appear to be with his usually reliable putting, where he dropped to 95th in strokes gained. His tee-to-green game (37th SG) still shines, so there is something to build on. Or rebuild on. —Dave Shedloski

MORE: How Jason Day is rediscovering his game with an assist from a 9-year-old

97. Denny McCarthy

Age: 28 / owgr: 180 / ’22 fedex cup: 30.

If one man could ever disprove the old adage, “You drive for show and you putt for dough,” it’s this guy. McCarthy has twice led the PGA Tour in strokes gained/putting, yet he’s still searching for his maiden victory. That being said, he’s made some decent dough with $4.3 million in earnings in four seasons, and he’s started this campaign by making more with four consecutive made cuts. —Alex Myers

96. Hudson Swafford

Age: 34 / owgr: 163 / ’22 fedex cup: 118.

It's extremely difficult to bring up Swafford without noting his eerie physical similarity to college teammate Harris English, and we'll be the latest to fail. To his credit, he takes it in stride, and plods steadily along in a career that reads as "journeyman" on the surface, but does include two tour wins, including his latest in September 2020 in the Dominican Republic. It's a fact of life that Swafford is going to miss cuts, but as he proved last season, he can miss a bunch (17) and still post a high FedEx Cup finishing position (36th). — Shane Ryan

Jared C. Tilton

95. Adam Schenk

Age: 29 / owgr: 156 / ’22 fedex cup: 37.

The man with the most unfortunate name in golf hit anything but a shank over the last eight months. Since the RBC Heritage, Schenk has finished T-18 or better five times, including three inside the top four. Should he keep it rolling into 2022, there are ample low-key, early-season events for the former Purdue Boilermaker to pick off a maiden win. —Christopher Powers

94. Adam Hadwin

Age: 34 / owgr: 150 / ’22 fedex cup: 126.

The streaky Canadian—he missed three straight cuts during three stretches in 2021—can put it all together at times. Hadwin had three top-eights last season but the short hitter rarely produces a charge on the weekend. He averaged 70.38 on both Saturday and Sunday—91st for both days on tour. —Tod Leonard

MORE: Complete top 25 of Golf Digest’s Newsmakers of 2021

93. Luke List

Age: 36 / owgr: 152 / ’22 fedex cup: 28.

List is the only player from the last decade to have led the tour in driving distance for the year and never won on tour. Most other to lead in distance, like Bubba, Bryson, DJ, and Rory, also have majors. List can hammer the ball, and his tee-to-green numbers will always be elite with that asset. But his putting has been historically poor—if you look at one of those Data Golf charts measuring five skills, the shape List delivers is more of the rare triangle than some form of pentagon. But hey, you just need one hot week with the putter and you can pull the Cameron Champ and pick off a win or two. —Brendan Porath

92. Henrik Norlander

Age: 34 / owgr: 162 / ’22 fedex cup: 49.

The Swede finished fourth at Sanderson Farms in the fall, spurred by a final-round 64. Though he turned pro in 2011 after helping lead Augusta State to back-to-back NCAA team titles, this is just Norlander’s fifth season on the PGA Tour, alternating between the Korn Ferry and Challenge Tours in between. His strength is his iron play: Norlander ranked 27th last season on tour in strokes gained/approach. — Stephen Hennessey

91. Robert Streb

Age: 34 / owgr: 120 / ’22 fedex cup: 45.

After winning the 2020 RSM Classic, Streb played 23 events the rest of the 2020-21 season and missed more cuts than he made (12 to 11) with just three top-20 finishes. The fall was better, though, with two top-10s, and having a card through 2023 means he doesn’t have to sweat things out this season. That has to be somewhat liberating after finishing outside the top 125 in 2018, 2019 and 2020. —Ryan Herrington

90. Troy Merritt

Age: 36 / owgr: 106 / ’22 fedex cup: 52.

When you hear discussions about how the tour is looking out for its rank-and-file members, Merritt is the player they’re talking about. He’s proven he can win (he’s done it twice), made more than $11 million and has played well enough to keep his card for nine straight seasons. Yet for as consistent a career as that is, he’s never gotten to the Tour Championship. Can 2022 be different? Perhaps … he finished the fall ranked 14th in SG/approach the green and 34th total, which rank as career bests if extended through an entire season. —R.H.

89. Aaron Rai

Age: 26 / owgr: 100 / ’22 fedex cup: 59.

Perhaps known best by American golf fans for his iron headcovers, Rai made a name for himself in the U.S. in 2021, nearly winning on the Korn Ferry Tour in his first start. It was a painful runner-up finish—needing just an up-and-down to secure victory he instead took four strokes, missing a playoff—but the KFT result in Boise secured his PGA Tour card for this season. The Englishman missed his first three cuts on the PGA Tour but finished the year with three consecutive top-20s. — S.H.

Steve Dykes

MORE: This pro’s reason for using iron headcovers will make you feel pretty bad about making fun of him

88. Brendan Steele

Age: 38 / owgr: 101 / ’22 fedex cup: 20.

The Sultan of the Safeway Open had a “down” 2021, if you consider it purely on FEC finish, which was 105th. But he still made almost $1.4 million, so he was making cuts and cashing checks, which he’s done all his career. Steele has the length to hang on the modern tour, and he’ll pick and choose his venues where he knows he can pop after several years on the circuit. —B.P.

87. Davis Riley

Age: 25 / owgr: 362 / ’22 fedex cup: 111.

Cruelly, the former Alabama star was third on the Korn Ferry points list in 2020, but didn’t get promoted when the season was extended due to the pandemic. Riley forged on with seven top-10s, including two wins, that got eventually got him onto the PGA Tour for 2021-22. The new season has been a rollercoaster—four missed cuts, countered by a T-7 in Bermuda. The flat stick in a hinderance: Riley is 131st in SG/putting. —T.L.

86. Chris Kirk

Age: 36 / owgr: 96 / ’22 fedex cup: 97.

Between 2011 and 2015, Kirk ripped off four wins and earned a spot on the 2015 U.S. Presidents Cup team. The six years that followed were tough both on and off the course for Kirk, who opened up about his battle with alcoholism in 2019. Since then he’s found his golf game again, winning a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2020 and collecting eight top-16 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2021. Perhaps 2022 is the year he ends what is now a six-plus-year victory drought. —C.P.

85. Lanto Griffin

Age: 33 / owgr: 111 / '22 fedex cup: 42.

We haven't fully checked the record books, but it seems likely that Griffin is the one-and-only PGA Tour winner to be named by his hippie parents after a spiritual master (in this case, "Lord Lanto, a Chohan of the Second Ray of Illumination"). It took him years to reach the PGA Tour, but a win at the 2019 Houston Open gave him serious traction, and after holding on to the top 100 last season, he's off to a big start with two top-10s in the fall. And fun fact: Thanks to those hippie parents, Griffin has never eaten red meat. —S.R.

MORE: Lanto Griffin—from broke to the PGA Tour in five months

84. Matt Kuchar

Age: 43 / owgr: 116 / ’22 fedex cup: 91.

One of the game’s top earners for more than a decade, Kuchar has cooled down with only one top-10 in each of the past two seasons. The nine-time tour winner was always able to get around a lack of distance, but that’s getting harder to do these days—especially with an eroding iron game. Kuchar ranked 108th and 98th in SG/approach the past two seasons, and is currently 184th. —A.M.

Alex Goodlett

MORE: Even Matt Kuchar is chasing speed with his swing

83. Bubba Watson

Age: 43 / owgr: 85 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Because he remains one of the longest hitters, and because he can create shots, and because he puts himself out there with genuine emotion, Watson still is a compelling and competitive presence on the PGA Tour. To return to legitimate threat, the lithe left-hander needs to shake off that middle-aged putting stroke, because being 149th in SG/putting (minus-.210) last season nullified an encouraging 36th position in SG/tee to green (plus-.751)—which explains his paltry 3.59 birdie average. And though he had just five top-10 finishes in 22 events, he only missed four cuts (plus one WD), and he qualified for the playoffs for the 15th time, one of just six players with perfect attendance in the FedEx Cup era. Watson and longtime caddie Ted Scott have split amicably, but maybe a new voice will get him to a 13th career win. —D.S.

MORE: In new book, Bubba opens up about the struggles he kept to himself

82. Adam Long

Age: 29 / owgr: 143 / ’22 fedex cup: 36.

Started this wrap-around season with four straight top-25 finishes to set himself up nicely in the FedEx Cup race. Don’t let the name fool you—he ranked only 88th in driving distance last season. —D.R.

81. Jhonattan Vegas

Age: 37 / owgr: 82 / ’22 fedex cup: 56.

Vegas enjoyed a career revival in 2020-21 thanks to three runner-up finishes, a performance he carried over into the fall (fifth in SG/off-the-tee, 17th in SG/tee-to-green). That this is a Presidents Cup year should provide extra incentive for Vegas. The International team has depth for the first time in, well, forever, yet most of those names are young and unproven. Vegas—who won his singles match at the 2017 Presidents Cup—will be 38 when the biennial match kicks off at Quail Hollow, and would give captain Trevor Immelman a steady, likeable veteran presence on the squad. —J.B.

Mike Ehrmann

80. Pat Perez

Age: 45 / owgr: 280 / ’22 fedex cup: 192.

Perez has historically used the fall to jumpstart his seasons, but this autumn was none too kind (five starts, three missed cuts, a WD and a T-44). Turning 46 in March, it’s fair to wonder how much gas Perez has left in the tank. Yet the man has been a model of consistency, missing the playoffs just once in its 15-year existence … and that once was due to an injury that sidelined him for seven months in 2016. The 2021 super season was another solid campaign for Perez, making the cut in 21 of 32 starts and finishing 53rd in strokes gained. He’ll need the West Coast Swing to right his wrongs, but it’s a safe bet to see Perez once again come playoff time. —J.B.

79. Emiliano Grillo

Age: 29 / owgr: 92 / ’22 fedex cup: 114.

Sometimes, the PGA Tour rookie of the year award is a harbinger of greatness. For Grillo, the 2016 winner, it hasn’t quite turned out that way, though he remains a terrific ball-striker who’s seen success in weaker-field events. —D.R.

78. Joel Dahmen

Age: 34 / owgr: 93 / ’22 fedex cup: 46.

A season with three top-10s doesn’t sound all that great, except that when one of them is your first PGA Tour win in your 12th year as a professional, it’s everything. So Dahmen, winner in the Dominican Republic, has that going for him, which is … well, you know … nice. One of the shorter drivers of the ball, Dahmen has to do other things well. Hitting fairways is one where he did fine (ranked 22nd). Getting to the greens and then operating on them, not so much, and on that last item, the 34-year-old Washington native gave up way too much ground at 164th SG/putting (minus-.344). —D.S.

Kevin C. Cox

MORE: How Joel Dahmen got his mind right before his first PGA Tour win

77. Lee Westwood

Age: 48 / owgr: 37 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Oh, what could have been in 2021 as Westwood played his way into the final pairing in back-to-back events (Bay Hill and the Players) before finishing runner-up in both. Sadly, reminiscent of his long list of close calls in majors throughout his career. Westy’s OWGR remains rather lofty based on those two finishes as well as winning the 2020 Race to Dubai title on the European Tour, but a T-21 as his best performance since March indicates he’s headed on a different trajectory now as he closes in on his 49th birthday in April. —A.M.

76. Cameron Young

Age: 24 / owgr: 135 / ’22 fedex cup: 26.

Search for Cameron Young on Wikipedia, and the first hit is a G-League NBA player; check the World Ranking, and Young is the fifth-most famous Cameron, after Smith, Tringale, Davis and Champ. And yet the Wake Forest grad is brimming with raw potential, and even more importantly, he's a winner: He earned his card on the strength of back-to-back wins on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, and though he ran hot-and-cold the rest of the season, he nearly won his second PGA Tour event at Sanderson Farms. The son of the head pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Young is still untested, but he has a nose for trophies. —S.R.

MORE: 7 unsung heroes of the PGA Tour fall season

75. Sahith Theegala

Age: 24 / owgr: 382 / ’22 fedex cup: 85.

Theegala is not yet on the level of some of the other studs in his age group, but his appearance in this ranking is a prediction that he will be soon. He didn’t rewrite the Korn Ferry Tour history books in the 2020-21 season, but his consecutive top-six finishes in the final two KFT Finals events saw him earn his PGA Tour card for the 2021-22 season. There will be growing pains, no doubt, but we’re betting on the crazy-talented 24-year-old from Pepperdine to introduce himself to the casual golf fan in a big way in 2022. —C.P.

Sam Greenwood

74. Cameron Davis

Age: 26 / owgr: 78 / ’22 fedex cup: 151.

The Aussie has been trying to live up to the promise he showed in capturing the 2017 Australian Open, beating the likes of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. Davis finally delivered on the Fourth of July by outlasting Troy Merritt in a five-hole playoff to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He also had a third in The American Express, but posted only one other top-10. Davis is a big hitter (19th in driving distance), but not strong with the irons (120th in GIR). —T.L.

73. Tom Hoge

Age: 32 / owgr: 110 / ’22 fedex cup: 27.

An established regular on tour, Hoge has moved beyond “No, what is it?” status. That’s the reply Tiger Woods gave in 2015 when he was asked if he would recognize Tom Hoge, who would be his playing partner the next day at the Wyndham (presumably Tiger thought the inquisitor was referring to a sandwich of some sort). Hoge will likely make some 30 starts and make around as many cuts as he misses, relying on hot stretches with his below-average putter that occasionally bump him into contention. —B.P.

72. Matt Wallace

Age: 31 / owgr: 80 / ’22 fedex cup: 48.

Wallace had five top-10 finishes across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2021, including a T-4 at the Zozo Championship in the fall. He held a share of the 54-hole lead at the Valero Texas Open, falling short to Jordan Spieth despite Wallace putting on a ball-striking clinic, gaining 15.3 strokes to the field tee-to-green. — S.H.

71. Ian Poulter

Age: 45 / owgr: 57 / ’22 fedex cup: t-141.

The Brit turns 46 on Jan. 10 and with no Ryder Cup to aim for in 2022, the question is what kind of motivation does he have. To wit, he missed three cuts in four tour starts after Whistling Straits last fall. The most cuts he’s missed in any season on tour since 2005 is four. That said, he has posted 39 top-10s in 92 tour starts from 2017-21. —R.H.

70. Harold Varner III

Age: 31 / owgr: 95 / ’22 fedex cup: 64.

There might not be any player on tour who more of his peers are pulling for to get that first win than Varner, the North Carolina native is that well liked. But the journey to win No. 1 continues to have its rocky moments as Varner struggles to sustain momentum after posting solid first rounds. The good news? In 2021, he had a career-best 10 top-25s, along with his first top-three finish (T-2 at Harbour Town). And as a new dad to baby Liam, there’s some new incentive to succeed in 2022. —R.H.

MORE: The most absurdly funny screenshots from an absurdly funny year in golf

69. Charley Hoffman

Age: 45 / owgr: 76 / ’22 fedex cup: 92.

Entering his 17th year on tour, Hoffman has been a model of consistency—keeping his card every year since 2006. The San Diego native had five top-10s last season, including a runner-up at the Valero Texas Open (where he closed with rounds of 66-65-66) and a third-place finish at Colonial, adding to an impressive résumé in the Lone Star State: 14 career top-10 finishes and 30 top-25s. —S.H.

68. Alex Noren

Age: 39 / owgr: 71 / ’22 fedex cup: 126.

After getting hot in the playoffs and nearly making it to Atlanta, 2021 was a rebound season of sorts for Noren, who once ascended into the top 10 in the world and made a Ryder Cup team. Noren’s majors record is rather underwhelming after 30 career starts, and his tee-to-green deficiencies relative to the modern elite players will continue to make breakthroughs at many of those setups a challenge. — B.P.

67. Cameron Champ

Age: 26 / owgr: 83 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

We don’t yet know what Champ’s season is going to look like because a wrist injury forced him to shut things down after just one start in October. He must be hugely disappointed, considering Champ—who was third on the tour in driving distance (317 yards)—won for the third straight year in July at the 3M Open. It’s the putter that holds Champ back from contending more; he was 188th in SG/putting in 2020-21. —T.L.

66. Keith Mitchell

Age: 29 / owgr: 89 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 31.

Mitchell owns one of the more impressive non-major wins in recent memory, defeating both Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler by one stroke at the 2019 Honda Classic. He hasn’t followed it with another trophy, but a trio of recent top-five finishes (Wells Fargo, 3M Open, CJ Cup) would lead one to believe that the former Georgia Bulldog isn’t likely to be just a one-win wonder. —C.P.

65. Keegan Bradley

Age: 35 / owgr: 86 / ’22 fedex cup: 84.

The peak of Bradley's career so far came in 2012, when he came into the Ryder Cup as a major champion and teamed with Phil Mickelson to electrify the Chicago crowds for the first two days. He's only 35, but the fall from those heights was definitive, and he's only managed a single win since. Still, he hasn't gone away, and on the strength of four top-10s last season, he put himself in position to make the Tour Championship and prove that even though that initial surge to stardom was part mirage, he's still a very good professional golfer. —S.R.

64. Garrick Higgo

Age: 22 / owgr: 61 / ’22 fedex cup: 160.

The talented South African has been piling up wins at an impressive rate, no matter what tour he plays on. After winning on the European Tour in back-to-back months, Higgo captured his first PGA Tour title at Congaree in June, just weeks after turning 22. He enters 2022 outside the top 50 in the OWGR, but it doesn’t appear like he’ll stay there for long. —A.M.

63. Branden Grace

Age: 33 / owgr: 70 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 105.

There is a reason that Grace’s best SG stat is around the greens: He doesn’t hit many of them, averaging just 64.47 percent last season (144th on tour). But when he does have a week like he did at the Puerto Rico Open, where he was T-3 in the field after finding 57 of 72 (79.2 percent), the South African veteran does OK. In fact, he won his second tour title there and first anywhere in five years. Hey, that was one more win than countryman Louis Oosthuizen, the hard-luck loser of 2021 majors. Grace posted three other top-seven finishes, including runner-up at the Wyndham. He tends to make the most of his opportunities. —D.S.

62. Kevin Streelman

Age: 43 / owgr: 77 / ’22 fedex cup: 128.

Not someone you’d stop to watch on the driving range, but he’s kept his tour card for 15 years and has made more than $23 million. Picked up his first major top-10 in 26 tries at the PGA Championship at Kiawah. —D.R.

MORE: Kevin Streelman was the other underdog at the 2021 PGA

61. Aaron Wise

Age: 25 / owgr: 64 / ’22 fedex cup: 22.

The rookie of the year in 2018 went sideways in his second and third years on tour but bounced back in a big way during 2020-21, racking up nine top-25 finishes on his way to reaching the second stage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Wise carried that fine display to the fall with three top-15s in five starts thanks to a stout tee-to-green game. If he can tighten up his short game (no better than 132nd in SG/putting the past three seasons) the former NCAA champ could be on the precipice of a breakout campaign. —J.B.

60. Rickie Fowler

Age: 33 / owgr: 87 / ’22 fedex cup: 43.

The 2021 super season was a super nightmare for Fowler. He had just one top-10 against nine missed cuts in 24 starts, failed to qualify for the Masters and U.S. Open, and he did not make the postseason for the first time in his career. But Fowler did contend in the fall at the CJ Cup in Vegas, ultimately coming in T-3 (his first top-three finish since the 2019 Honda Classic) to show the obituaries are premature. To keep the momentum going into 2022, Fowler will need to shore up his short game. Historically one of the better putters on tour (even ranking first in SG/putting in 2017), Fowler fell to 126th in the category last season. —J.B.

Gregory Shamus

59. Brian Harman

Age: 26 / owgr: 59 / ’22 fedex cup: 189.

Somewhat limited due to his lack of length but Harman makes a boatload of cuts. Manages his game extremely well and ranked inside the top 30 in both SG/putting and around the green in 2020-21. —D.R.

58. Ryan Palmer

Age: 45 / owgr: 47 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 108.

In the long history of great Texas golfers, Palmer wouldn’t garner much attention, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a very good player for a very long time. The four-time tour winner is sinewy strong, averaging 304.6 yards off the tee last season (38th) while ranking 49th in SG/off the tee. That will keep you relevant. He remains a decent putter (89th SG), also helpful. The only category where he lost strokes was around the greens. —D.S.

57. K.H. Lee

Age: 30 / owgr: 63 / ’22 fedex cup: 66.

We’ll be rooting for the former “husky boy” to achieve his stated goal of becoming the “sexiest golfer in the world” in 2022, unless he already claimed that title in your view. In 2021, Lee captured his first tour win, triggering another run of firsts in the coming year, where he’ll start inside the top 100 for the first time in his career, play his rookie Masters and, potentially, earn a Presidents Cup bid. The next step is making his first cut at a major championship, where his record is markedly inexperienced and thin (four starts, four missed cuts). —B.P.

56. Seamus Power

Age: 34 / owgr: 73 / ’22 fedex cup: 25.

It sounds unbelievable, but prior to Power’s win at the Barbasol in July, only four players from the Republic of Ireland had won a PGA Tour event. That was the cherry on top of an incredible summer for Power, whose World Ranking skyrocketed from the 400s to top 70 on the strength of that win and six other top-20 finishes. At the RSM Classic, the final event of the fall, he posted a T-4, giving warning that his meteoric rise in the summer was a beginning, not an end. —S.R.

55. Cameron Tringale

Age: 34 / owgr: 51 / ’22 fedex cup: 13.

Even if you’re a casual golf-watcher, chances are you’ve seen Tringale’s name at the top of the leader board upwards of a million times over the last handful of seasons (he has 15 top-25s since November 2020). That has yet to translate into a win on the PGA Tour, but chances are if he continues to put himself in position to win he’ll get there sooner or later. —C.P.

MORE: You won’t believe how many tour pros have made $10M without winning

54. Stewart Cink

Age: 48 / owgr: 52 / ’22 fedex cup: 199.

Yes, Phil Mickelson rightfully grabbed the headlines by being the oldest major winner, but Cink notching two wins in a seven-month span, at 48, was arguably just as impressive. Remember, he won the Safeway Open by going 65-65 on the weekend and opened his title week in the Heritage with back-to-back 63s. For anybody, that’s playing your behind off. The iron play was fabulous, ranking Cink at 34th in SG/approach. He’s going to have to drive it better to be factor this year; in four events, he’s 104th in distance and 176th in accuracy. —T.L.

Patrick Smith

53 . Harry Higgs

Age: 30 / owgr: 138 / ’22 fedex cup: 69.

A social-media darling, and for good reason, as Higgs brings character, humor and flavor to a tour with one too many mayo sandwiches. At 30, his career progression has been steady and stable, what we used to see as the norm in a prior era. He’s worked his way up with success, and wins, at each level, and 2021 came with a top-five finish in his first (and still only) major championship. —B.P.

52. Phil Mickelson

Age: 51 / owgr: 33 / ’22 fedex cup: 174.

What a glorious year for Lefty, who become the oldest major champion in golf history by outdueling major slayer Brooks Koepka at Kiawah Island. He also added four victories in six starts on the PGA Tour Champions in his first season, becoming just the second player to accomplish the feat, joining Jack Nicklaus. The question is whether the senior success and that major magic will translate into more consistency in regular PGA Tour starts, where he had just one other top-20 showing outside the PGA win in the 2020-21 season. — S.H.

MORE: 101 things that happened to Phil Mickelson in 2021

51. Russell Henley

Age: 32 / owgr: 55 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 38.

You think of Henley as older than 32 given the fact he’s already playing his 10th season. He’s been a consistent performer during that time, finishing inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup ranking every year. Yet he’s only qualified for the Tour Championship twice (2014 and 2017) and hasn’t won since April 2017. So is Henley’s biological clock ticking? Perhaps. He’s learned to live with the fact he isn’t the longest player out there, but that means he needs to figure out a way to shore up his short game if he hopes to have more than a solid career. —R.H.

50. Sergio Garcia

Age: 41 / owgr: 45 / ’22 fedex cup: 73.

What’s left for Sergio, who has his major and his stellar Ryder Cup record and turns 42 on Jan. 9? In 2018 and 2020, he was outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list, only to bounce back with solid seasons in 2019 and 2021. Interestingly, the Spaniard hasn’t shot a round over par on the PGA Tour since the first round of The Northern Trust in August. Ended the fall with a T-7 finish in Mexico, which certainly provides a positive vibe heading into the new year. —R.H.

49. Shane Lowry

Age: 34 / owgr: 44 / ’22 fedex cup: 203.

The 2019 Open champion had six worldwide top-10s in 2021, plus a T-12 in defending his title at The Open. The Irishman had several career-best finishes last year: at the PGA Championship (T-4), the Memorial (T-6), The Players (eighth) and the Masters (T-21). — S.H.

Warren Little

48 . Justin Rose

Age: 41 / owgr: 42 / ’22 fedex cup: 103.

It’s been a disappointing past two-plus seasons for this former World No. 1. In 33 starts, Rose racked up just five top-10s with a T-3 at the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge being his best result. Still in tremendous physical shape (just check his Instagram feed), a final-round 65 at the RSM Classic in the last official round of 2021 to finish T-12 indicates he has more good golf left in him—even if it happens less frequently. —A.M.

47. Mito Pereira

Age: 26 / owgr: 98 / ’22 fedex cup: 21.

Still a mystery to most American fans, the Chilean could make a big splash in ’22 if his trajectory continues. The Texas Tech alum earned a battlefield promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour with three wins in 2021, including back-to-back victories in June. Since then, Pereira has three top-10s on the PGA Tour and finished just off the podium in the Olympics. The stellar iron player has already competed seven times for 2021-22 and has four top-30s and only one missed cut. —T.L.

46. Kevin Kisner

Age: 37 / owgr: 43 / ’22 fedex cup: 203.

“This ain’t no hobby” and “they give away a lot [of $$] for 20th,” two of Kisner’s famous quotes, seem to be opposing ideas, but they actually sum up his PGA Tour existence perfectly. Golf is not a hobby for Kisner (he’s among the 50 best in the world at it), but he knows his skills are limited to shorter, shot-maker’s golf courses. He pops at those spots, like Harbour Town, Sedgefield and Detroit Golf Club, then happily takes his T-23s in the events where distance matters greatly. He knows who he is and makes no apologies for it, making him a fan favorite. —C.P.

45. Maverick McNealy

Age: 26 / owgr: 68 / ’22 fedex cup: 12.

It's easy to fly under the radar when you're still looking for your first professional win, but McNealy was one of the more quietly impressive players on tour last year, rising from 166th in the World Ranking at the start of 2021 to 69th at the end. Second-place finishes at Pebble Beach and Napa are the highlights, and he became more consistent as the season went along, making seven straight cuts to reach the BMW Championship. At 26, it's clear that McNealy is beginning to enter his prime. —S.R.

44. Tommy Fleetwood

Age: 30 / owgr: 40 / ’22 fedex cup: 95.

Now in his 30s, Fleetwood doesn’t quite fit the “Young Gunz” category anymore, but he still has a lot of golf in front of him. That being said—and not to sound too much like Paul Azinger—it has to be disheartening that this five-time European Tour winner has yet to break through in the U.S. More alarming is the only time he came close last year ended with a Sunday 77 at Bay Hill. Already with a T-7 in Vegas and still one of the game’s best ball-strikers, we expect to see his name on more leader boards in 2022—even if it’s not all the way on top. —A.M.

43. Erik van Rooyen

Age: 31 / owgr: 66 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 138.

The South African enjoyed a rookie season that included a victory and a spot in the Tour Championship, thanks to consecutive top-five finishes in the Playoffs, so it stands to reason that expectations will be much higher in the coming year. He certainly has room for improvement, with a stat sheet that shows his best category was SG/putting (64th). Van Rooyen missed the cut in all three majors in which he competed and fell short of the weekend in 11 of 27 starts, so more consistency should be a stated goal in 2022. —D.S.

​​ 42. Lucas Herbert

Age: 26 / owgr: 41 / ’22 fedex cup: 9.

Secured his card through the Korn Ferry finals and promptly earned some job security by winning his third starts as a PGA Tour member in October at the Bermuda Championship. The Aussie has a great chance to make this year’s Presidents Cup team. —D.R.

41. Sebastian Munoz

Age: 28 / owgr: 60 / ’22 fedex cup: 19.

Munoz doesn’t do anything that particularly jumps out. In that same breath, the man possesses view weaknesses. See ball, hit ball, keep ball in play. It’s an equation that’s paid dividends: Thanks to a T-4 at the Zozo and a third at the RSM, Munoz begins 2022 inside the FedEx Cup top 20. Should he stay in the discussion for a trip to East Lake, it may be enough to snag a spot on the Presidents Cup team. To solidify his spot on the International squad, as well as make the jump into the next echelon of tour players, Munoz needs to keep the bigger numbers at bay: He ranked 131st in bogey avoidance last season. Improving his putting from inside 10 feet (111th in the category last year) will go ways towards that goal. —J.B.

Tom Pennington

40. Adam Scott

Age: 41 / owgr: 46 / ’22 fedex cup: 62.

Scott has advanced to the Tour Championship just twice in the last seven seasons. Part of that stems from his penchant for playing a light schedule (he’s only played more than 20 events once in his career), yet his performance in those limited appearances, while good, has trended the wrong direction with age. Nevertheless, Scott did post a T-5 at the CJ Cup in the fall, and a golfer’s 40s are no longer the purgatory they once were on tour. With the Presidents Cup on tap this year, don’t be surprised if we see a revival from the former Masters champ. —J.B.

39. Si Woo Kim

Age: 26 / owgr: 53 / ’22 fedex cup: 44.

Hard to believe he’s still three-plus years from 30. Hasn’t quite delivered on the top-10 potential he flashed in winning the 2018 Players at 21, but he’s got three wins and is coming off his most consistent season yet. —D.R.

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38. Mackenzie Hughes

Age: 31 / owgr: 39 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 11.

A strong fall campaign, highlighted by a T-4 at the Zozo and second at the RSM, augers well for the Canadian veteran. Hughes did just enough during the 2020-21 campaign to make it to the BMW Championship despite losing more than half a stroke to the field in SG/total. Four top-10s, including T-6 at The Open, and adding a T-15 finish at the U.S. Open sure helped. His relative lack of power always will make things challenging, but the last few years Hughes has gotten the putting-for-dough thing nailed down (including 15th in SG, ninth in total putting last season). —D.S.

37. Matt Fitzpatrick

Age: 27 / owgr: 24 / ’22 fedex cup: 154.

The Brit has made a steady climb up the OWGR despite not winning yet on the PGA Tour. Already a seven-time champ in Europe, however, he clearly has what it takes to close out golf tournaments—especially those played in difficult scoring conditions. “I’d love to tick that off,” Fitzpatrick told Today’s Golfer in October. “But I’m not a rookie anymore. I’m 27. In my own mind, I know I’ve got to start competing in the big events so my name is up at the top of the leader board more often.” We couldn’t agree more, Matt. —A.M.

Quality Sport Images

36. Paul Casey

Age: 44 / owgr: 27 / ’22 fedex cup: 152.

The veteran Brit must have discovered the fountain of youth, and we're not saying that just because of his boyish face. Firmly in his mid-40s, he made 18 of 20 cuts on tour last season, posted seven top-10s, made yet another Ryder Cup, and is the oldest man inside the world top 30. His consistency is a marvel, and so is his approach game—in 2020-21, only Morikawa was better on SG/approach. —S.R.

35. Webb Simpson

Age: 36 / owgr: 28 / ’22 fedex cup: 54.

In comparison to 2018, 2019 and 2020, when Simpson enjoyed a career resurgence after going five-plus years without a win, 2021 was a down season for the former U.S. Open champ. And yet, he still had five finishes of T-9 or better in 21 starts, three of them coming at three of his favorite tour courses—Harbour Town (RBC Heritage), Sedgefield (Wyndham) and Sea Island (RSM Classic). You can pencil him in for top-10s at those stops again in 2022, and we should expect much more from this prolific winner who still has plenty of good golf left in him. —C.P.

34. Matthew Wolff

Age: 22 / owgr: 30 / ’22 fedex cup: 7.

He’s so young, but this still seems like a critical season for Wolff. Will he better handle the pressure that came with his early success and then sidelined him for a mental-health break in ’21? The early returns are positive, with Wolff finishing second, T-5 and T-11 among his first four starts of the 2021-22 season. The putter has been a huge strength (12th thus far in SG), and he’s fourth in SG overall. That’s impressive for a guy who was fourth in driving distance last year (315.9), though he needs to keep it more on the short stuff; Wolff was 189th in accuracy. —T.L.

MORE: Matthew Wolff details depths of his mental health struggles

33. Corey Conners

Age: 29 / owgr: 38 / ’22 fedex cup: 87.

Your favorite flusher’s favorite flusher became the trendy description of Conners in 2021, a breakout year for him with multiple appearances on major championship leader boards and a trip to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. If we’re judging just based on tee to green, he could have been argued as a top-10 player in the world. What happens around and on the green makes it a bit more adventurous, but he’s too skilled in all-too-important areas of the game to not expect a bucket of more top 10s and a likely Presidents Cup spot representing Canada in 2022. —B.P.

32. Carlos Ortiz

Age: 30 / owgr: 54 / ’22 fedex cup: 16.

Ortiz edged a crowded leader board to earn his first PGA Tour title at the 2020 Houston Open, becoming the first winner from Mexico since 1978 (Victor Regalado). He contended for a third straight year at Mayakoba in his home country but finished four strokes behind winner Viktor Hovland. — S.H.

31. Tyrrell Hatton

Age: 30 / owgr: 22 / ’22 fedex cup: 125.

The Englishman would likely place higher on this list if European Tour results weighed heavier: He won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and finished runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2021. But Hatton had just one individual top-10 on the PGA Tour last year, a runner-up at Congaree. — S.H.

30. Billy Horschel

Age: 35 / owgr: 23 / ’22 fedex cup: 167.

Has some ground to make up in the FedEx Cup standings after playing just one PGA Tour event in the fall (T-33 at Mayakoba) while moonlighting on the European Tour. Still, he’s finished outside the top 50 only one since 2012 so there’s not much reasons to sweat it. A victory in the BMW Championship at Wentworth in September after a win at the WGC-Dell Match Play in March suggests Horschel has the game to win big events. But that record in majors—one top-15 finish and just two top-20s in 31 starts as a pro—is something that he would like to remedy. —R.H.

29. Talor Gooch

Age: 30 / owgr: 32 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 1.

There was no hotter player on the tour this fall than the former Oklahoma State golfer. He carded five top-11 finishes in six starts including an “at last” breakout win at the RSM Classic to jump top the FedEx Cup ranking entering 2022. And this all happened despite ranking 149th in SG/off the tee (-.124). That’s been typical of Gooch in his four years on tour; he has never ranked better than 107th and always finished with a negative number. If he could shore up his driving, he has an iron game that will get him to the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. —R.H.

Cliff Hawkins

MORE: Talor Gooch finishes excellent fall with breakthrough win

28. Marc Leishman

Age: 38 / owgr: 36 / ’22 fedex cup: 18.

Leishman bats it around as well as anyone on tour, and while he may have been inconsistent week-to-week last year, the year-over-year results speak for themselves. He’s got five wins in the last five years and finished inside the top 30 of the OWGR in five of the last six. He’s a reliable, professional golfer with a couple top five finishes already in the fall portion of the season. —B.P.

27. Louis Oosthuizen

Age: 39 / owgr: 11 / ’22 fedex cup: 117.

The South African is coming off a tremendous campaign, but there’s the nagging feeling that he missed out on something truly special. Oosthuizen tied for second in the PGA Championship and then held the Sunday back-nine lead in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines before succumbing to Jon Rahm’s charge. He also had a T-3 in The Open. Oosthuizen is the consummate “putt for dough” player—ranking No. 1 in SG/putting in ’21 while being 101st off the tee. —T.L.

MORE: Louis Oothuizen is not wondering ‘what if’ about major misses

26. Max Homa

Age: 31 / owgr: 35 / ’22 fedex cup: 6.

Homa, once a Korn Ferry Tour grinder who struggled his first few seasons on the PGA Tour, has come into his own in his late 20s and early 30s. He’s now a certified winner, with three victories between 2019 and 2021, two of them in big-time events (Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow, Genesis at Riviera). No longer just the funny golfer on Twitter, Homa now lets his clubs do the talking, though he’s still pretty hilarious when he logs on to the bird app. —C.P.

25. Joaquin Niemann

Age: 23 / owgr: 31 / ’22 fedex cup: 55.

Plainly put, it's time for Niemann to win again. In the last calendar year, he's had six top-10s on tour, another in the Olympics, and came agonizingly close to winning his second career title at both the Sentry TOC and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He lost in a playoff each time, but his World Ranking steadily improved throughout the year. Before a rocky finish to the fall, he had missed exactly one cut in 13 months, and even though he's still very, very young, he's ready to move from the upper echelons of the tour to the upper, upper echelons. —S.R.

24. Kevin Na

Age: 38 / owgr: 29 / ’22 fedex cup: 199.

Incredibly, this guy already has two decades of being a pro in the books. More amazing, though, is the fact he’s coming off the best season of his career. After winning just once in his first decade on tour, Na enters this year on a four-season winning streak. And after entering his name into the Ryder Cup conversation, perhaps he’ll finally get to wear the red, white and blue at this year’s Presidents Cup. —A.M.

23. Patrick Reed

Age: 31 / owgr: 25 / ’22 fedex cup: 29.

After winning his ninth tour title in January at the Farmers Insurance Open and occupying the top 10 in the World Ranking for the first half of 2021, Reed was hardly a factor the rest of the season. The falloff, and an untimely illness that landed him in the hospital, cost the so-called “Captain America” a spot on the record-setting U.S. Ryder Cup team. The guy’s short game and putting (seventh in SG/around the green, fourth in SG/putting) still prove to be lethal, but it’s right to wonder how long the former Masters winner can stay among the top Americans while his greens in regulation figures continue to deteriorate. —D.S.

MORE: Patrick Reed confronts his image and his critics

​​ 22. Will Zalatoris

Age: 25 / owgr: 34 / ’22 fedex cup: 67.

Fell one shot short of becoming the first since 1979 to win his first Masters appearance and holds the rare distinction of winning rookie of the year despite not being a full member of the PGA Tour. Now in his first FedEx Cup-eligible season, he’ll be keen to back up his breakout season with a first tour victory. —D.R.

21. Sungjae Im

Age: 23 / owgr: 26 / ’22 fedex cup: 3.

It’s frankly amazing that Im has logged more than 100 starts on tour … and he doesn’t turn 24 until March. A strong start in the fall (highlighted by a win at the Shriners followed by a T-9 at the CJ Cup) has Im poised for another stellar season. Despite his youth there’s little to nitpick with his game; the next step for Im would be for a bit more consistency at the big events—following a runner-up at the 2020 Masters, he failed to crack the top 15 at the majors or Players in 2021—but, again, he’s just 23. He seems odd to earmark Im as a potential breakout candidate given his success, yet with the Presidents Cup on tap along with some major venues that fit his game (cough, cough Southern Hills), the fledgling star is not far from gaining full-blown leading-man status in the sport. —J.B.

MORE: Sungjae Im (aka the Birdie Machine) was the perfect fit to win in Las Vegas

20. Abraham Ancer

Age: 30 / owgr: 17 / ’22 fedex cup: 63.

He has a lone win to his name. Don’t let that fool you; this cat can ball. Ancer is coming off a career year, finishing the regular season sixth in the FedEx Cup and ranking 12th in scoring and 15th in strokes gained. The output is especially impressive considering Ancer is one of the shortest hitters on tour (157th in distance), although he more than compensates by hitting more fairways than a John Deere (fifth in accuracy). It is fair to wonder if the lack of pop has held him back at majors, with just one top-10 finish in 11 starts; conversely, it could also just be a matter of reps, and his second-shot prowess (23rd in approach), ability to rack up red figures (20th in birdies) while keeping the big numbers off the card (fifth in bogey avoidance) should make him a formidable figure at one of golf’s big four … and soon. —J.B.

19. Cameron Smith

Age: 28 / owgr: 21 / ’22 fedex cup: 33.

The Aussie flashes one of best short games on tour, even if he’s still prone to a foul ball off the tee, like the one that sealed a playoff loss to Tony Finau at The Northern Trust. Cruised into the Tour Championship on the strength of perhaps his best year as a professional. —D.R.

Stacy Revere

18. Harris English

Age: 32 / owgr: 12 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Dismissing his dismal fall performance (two missed cuts and a WD), English enjoyed his best year in 2021 with a pair of wins and a fourth-place finish in the FedEx Cup regular-season standings. He rose to a career-best 10th in the World Ranking. At 32, he’s in the prime of his career, and the Georgia native has shown he knows how to score—and win—despite stats that don’t necessarily impress. He’ll go as far as his putter (12th SG/putting) takes him. —D.S.

17. Daniel Berger

Age: 28 / owgr: 19 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

The man who won the first event of the COVID restart in 2020 added another victory at Pebble Beach in 2021 to make that four in his PGA Tour career. Berger also had a pair of top-10s in majors and played (well) in his first Ryder Cup after being one of Steve Stricker’s captain’s picks. Interesting didn’t make a start in the fall season. It’s unlikely he’ll ever reach the level or status of fellow Class of 2011 stars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, but being the third wheel among that group isn’t too shabby. —A.M.

16. Jason Kokrak

Age: 36 / owgr: 20 / ’22 fedex cup: 8.

A victory at the Houston Open in the fall gave the big-hitting, 6-foot-4 Ohio native his third title in a 13-month span, adding to wins at Colonial (2021) and Shadow Creek (2020)—after going winless in his first 232 starts on the PGA Tour. The biggest difference-maker for the 36-year-old? His putting. Kokrak ranked sixth last season in strokes gained/putting. Compare that to his ranks in the previous five seasons: 151st; 103rd; 110th; 175th; 154th. — S.H.

15. Hideki Matsuyama

Age: 29 / owgr: 18 / ’22 fedex cup: 4.

As the game of golf gets increasingly global, there are fewer barriers to break, but Matsuyama shattered two huge ones when he became the first Asian-born golfer to win the Masters, and the first Japanese man to win a major. The rest of his season was decidedly average, which is understandable, but with a fall win at home at the Zozo Championship, he's riding into 2022 with major momentum. We could be looking at another career year. —S.R.

Atsushi Tomura

14. Jordan Spieth

Age: 28 / owgr: 14 / ’22 fedex cup: 141.

The former World No. 1 finally ended his post 2017 Open Championship “slump” in April, winning the Valero Texas Open just one week before the Masters. A T-7 at Augusta, plus a solo second later in the summer at The Open, served as definitive proof he was all the way back. A fourth major title will effectively silence any doubters left, and the 2022 majors schedule, which includes two of his favorite haunts (Augusta, St. Andrews), sets up quite nicely for him to check off that box. —C.P.

13. Tony Finau

Age: 32 / owgr: 15 / ’22 fedex cup: 169.

Finau shook off the King Kong-sized gorilla on his back when he gutted out a playoff win in August’s Northern Trust to win for the first time in 142 starts. He had eight runners-up in that span, and at least we don’t have to hear the laments that he can’t close. A slow starter, Finau ranked 116th in first-round scoring average (70.92) in ’21, but he was a Friday monster, averaging 68.60 (second). —T.L.

12. Brooks Koepka

Age: 31 / owgr: 16 / ’22 fedex cup: 172.

He remains golf’s best big-game hunter on the men’s side, with three more finishes T6 or better at the majors in 2021. An MC at the first, The Masters, came largely due to a knee injury he probably should not have been playing on yet. Given he admitted early last year that there were dark times rehabbing and his knee may never be 100 percent, injuries will continue to be a concern in 2022. But set aside the season-long numbers or holistic rankings, he’s the best at performing when it matters most and we’d need to see a year of total flops for that title to change. —B.P.

MORE: Brooks Koepka doesn’t hold back in our poolside interview

11. Scottie Scheffler

Age: 25 / owgr: 13 / ’22 fedex cup: 14.

An impressive Sunday singles victory over Jon Rahm at the Ryder Cup built Scheffler more equity as he tries to grab what feels inevitable—a first win on the PGA Tour. But the longer it takes, the trickier it will be fending off questions of why it hasn’t happened yet. Let’s just remember, the guy is only 25 and he’s already had 17 top-10 finishes in just 57 starts. He had two top-five finishes in the fall despite not ranking in the top 50 in any major strokes-gained category. When his game gets in gear at some point this spring, it’s hard not to think the inevitable comes to pass. —R.H.

10. Sam Burns

Age: 25 / owgr: 10 / ’22 fedex cup: 2.

The former college POY at LSU in 2017 had a breakout year in 2021, winning his first two career titles and holding the lead after the most rounds of any player on tour. After starting the year 154th in the World Ranking, he finished 11th, the biggest jump of any player in the top 50. Burns leads the tour at the winter break in SG/tee-to-green after being ninth in SG/putting in 2020-21, showcasing the versatility within his game. Just missed making the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but we have to think he’s a likely candidate for Davis Love III’s Presidents Cup squad. —R.H.

9. Dustin Johnson

Age: 37 / owgr: 3 / ’22 fedex cup: 194.

Spring 2021 was not kind to the 2020 Masters champ—DJ had just one top-10 finish from February through June. But the 24-time PGA Tour winner had top-10s in four of his final six starts of the season and then punctuated his 2021 with a flawless 5-0 performance at the Ryder Cup. If DJ wins this season (which we’d expect to happen), he’d have a victory in his first 15 seasons on tour. Only Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer boast a higher total (17). —S.H.

8. Bryson DeChambeau

Age: 28 / owgr: 5 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

PIP metrics and trophies aside, he is arguably the tour’s top superstar (non-Tiger category) thanks to a swarm of curiosity and tumult that extends to a larger audience outside the golf corner of the world. He once again led the tour in driving distance and drama in 2021. His all-gas, no-brake focus on the tee ball has yielded resounding results in its first couple years. He led the tour in SG/off-the-tee again in 2021, and the difference between his average and second place was the same as second all the way to 18th. Given the offseason social-media videos replete with speed training, expect the same in 2022. —B.P.

MORE: Bryson vs Brooks feud dominated golf chatter but was it good for the game?

7. Xander Schauffele

Age: 28 / owgr: 5 / ’22 fedex cup: 112.

The Olympic gold medal and a stellar first appearance in the Ryder Cup certainly defined a memorable season for Schauffle, but there’s more work to be done. Namely, to get that first major win to salve the sting of six top-fives in the Big Four. For the second straight appearance, Schauffele contended deep into Masters Sunday, but was beaten by a hotter player. In trying to win for the first time since early 2019, he had seconds in the CJ Cup, Farmers and Phoenix, and he contended (T-7) in his home major, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, despite a short-lived switch to an arm-lock putting grip. Few players on tour can match Schauffele’s consistent all-around attack. In 2020-21, he was 41st in SG/off-tee, 14th in approach and 16th in putting. —T.L.

6. Viktor Hovland

Age: 24 / owgr: 7 / ’22 fedex cup: 5.

With three wins—plus an OWGR-counting victory at the Hero World Challenge—before age 25, the young Norwegian has seemingly already delivered on all the promise he displayed in winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. The one area that continues to hold him back, though, is chipping, which he once claimed he “sucked” at. Should he continue to make slight improvements around the greens, his ceiling is second only to Collin Morikawa among the tour’s rising stars. Oddsmakers tend to agree, as Hovland is +550 to win a major in 2022 on the DraftKings Sportsbook. —C.P.

5. Rory McIlroy

Age: 32 / owgr: 9 / ’22 fedex cup: 9.

Since 2014, the dominant strain of discourse around McIlroy has been when or if he'll win another major, and it will continue to be so forever, if necessary. The story is the same—his putting just isn't good enough, and to win majors as a below-average putter, you need to be an approach genius like Collin Morikawa, which Rory is not. Still, he's now won twice on tour in the last year, including his October win at the CJ Cup, his putting is improving, and maybe—maybe—he's ready to take the leap again. —S.R.

4. Justin Thomas

Age: 28 / owgr: 8 / ’22 fedex cup: 32.

It was a strange 2021 for the American star, who found himself mired in controversy and in the first prolonged slump of his career. After losing his Ralph Lauren deal in January and winning the Players Championship in March, Thomas didn’t record another top 10 until the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But two top fives in those three events followed by another two at the Mayakoba and Hero indicate he’s got his game in better shape. And as we saw with his five-win campaign in 2016-2017, few are capable of going on bigger heaters. —A.M.

3. Patrick Cantlay

Age: 29 / owgr: 4 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

After seeing his career derailed by a back injury for more than two years, Cantlay finally has assumed what many thought should be his rightful place among the elite of his age group by winning four times in the 2020-21 season, capturing the FedEx Cup and winning Player of the Year honors. He showed no real weaknesses in his game, ranking no worse than 30th in the key SG metrics and finishing third in SG/total. The only things left for the laconic California native is to add his name to the column of major winners and to rise to World No. 1, and who thinks he won’t eventually achieve those goals? —D.S.

2. Collin Morikawa

Age: 24 / owgr: 2 / ’22 fedex cup: 15.

In the past year, he’s taken “The Leap” from great young player to perhaps the finest player on Earth. His record through 60 professional starts—six wins, two majors, 24 top 10s—has drawn some (unfair) Tiger comparisons; so has his habit of closing out tournaments with relentless, bogey-free rounds. Among a historically great group of 30 and younger Americans, he currently stands alone at the top. —D.R.

1. Jon Rahm

Age: 27 / owgr: 1 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

The numbers are staggering. Fifteen top-10s versus one missed cut in 22 starts last season. Second in SG/off-the-tee, eighth in approach and first in SG/overall. First in birdie average AND bogey avoidance. Yet those numbers fail to illustrate the most impressive figure of all: the “1” that replaced “0” in Rahm’s major total, shedding the label of backdoor finisher by closing out the 2021 U.S. Open with vigor. Though Rahm technically had just one win to his name—if “just” can describe his breakthrough at Torrey Pines—he tied for the lowest score over four days at East Lake during the Tour Championship and held a six-stroke lead through 54 holes at the Memorial before a positive COVID-19 test knocked him out of the event, in the process solidifying his claim as the sport’s top dog. —J.B.

Donald Miralle

Pendrith wins CJ Cup Byron Nelson, his first PGA Tour title

With a one-shot lead on 18, Ben Kohles has a disaster chip and missed par putt, leading to Taylor Pendrith getting his first win on the PGA Tour. (1:00)

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McKINNEY, Texas -- Taylor Pendrith tried his best to ignore Ben Kohles ' final-hole meltdown, focusing on the eagle putt that the Canadian thought he might have to make even to force a playoff as he walked toward the 18th green.

Several stunning minutes later, a 3-footer for birdie gave Pendrith his first PGA Tour victory.

Kohles overtook Pendrith with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 for a 1-shot lead, then bogeyed the 18th after hitting his second shot into greenside rough. Already in shock following two chips from the rough -- the second with his feet in a bunker -- Kohles missed a 6-foot putt that would have forced a playoff.

"Wasn't really trying to pay attention to what they were doing, although it really mattered, obviously," Pendrith said. "I feel for Ben. He played really, really good today, especially down the stretch. I've been on the other side of it a couple times, and it sucks. But it's golf. It's a hard game."

Pendrith shot 4-under 67 for a 23-under 261 total at the TPC Craig Ranch. The 32-year-old won in his 74th career PGA Tour start.

Playing just north of his birthplace of Dallas, Kohles shot 66 to finish a stroke back. The 34-year-old, who plays out of North Carolina and is winless in 68 starts, was the only player to bogey the 18th Sunday.

"Honestly, hadn't seen any rough like that all week," said Kohles, who moved to North Carolina when he was 10. "Just needed a little bit more umph on it. Did so many good things this week, and I'm just going to keep reminding myself of that and try to get myself back in this position."

Alex Noren , a Swedish player also seeking a first PGA Tour victory, was another stroke back. He wowed the crowd on the stadium hole at the par-3 17th with a tee shot to 2½ feet, but followed that birdie with a par knowing he probably needed an eagle on 18. Noren shot 65 and was alone in third at 21 under.

Aaron Rai and first-round leader Matt Wallace of England were at 20 under along with the South Korean pair of S.H. Kim and Byeong Hun An . Rai and Kim shot 64, An 65 and Wallace 68.

Pendrith, the third-round leader, and Kohles were separated by just 1 shot or tied most of the day. After Kohles made a 20-footer to take the lead on 17, Pendrith's par putt rolled all the way around the cup and went in.

"It just curled in, that putt, on the last second there, which was unreal just to give me a chance," said Pendrith. He had set it up with a chip from an awkward stance, with his heels hanging over the lip of a bunker, after saving par with another testy putt at the par-4 16th.

The victory qualified Pendrith for the PGA Championship in two weeks and next year's Masters. He's also in the next three $20 million signature events, starting next week with the Wells Fargo championship. Kohles and Noren also played their way into Wells Fargo with their Nelson showings.

With Wells Fargo and the PGA coming in the next two weeks, just three of the top 30 in the world ranking were in the field.

Jordan Spieth , the highest at No. 20, missed the cut for just the second time in 12 appearances at his hometown event. Defending champion Jason Day (22nd) and Tom Kim (23rd) didn't contend, with Day finishing 1 shot behind Kim at 9 under.

Jake Knapp , the second-round leader who three years ago was working as a security guard in his home state of California, shot 70 to finish at 19 under. Knapp and Wallace were the only players in the top eight with a previous PGA Tour win.

The start of the final round was pushed back 2½ hours because of overnight rain, and pairings turned into threesomes going off both tees with the players allowed to lift, clean and place shots in the fairway.

Wallace appeared to start a charge by chipping in for birdie at 12, the toughest hole of the week, and getting another birdie at the par-4 13th. A three-putt bogey on the par-3 15th stalled him out.

Rafael Campos , a 13-year journeyman from Puerto Rico who has spent most of his career on satellite tours, birdied five of the first six holes starting on the back nine to make the turn at 29.

The 36-year-old cooled off on his second nine before making a 48-foot putt from off the green for eagle on the par-5 ninth for a 63 that put him at 18 under.

Taiga Semikawa , a 23-year-old from Japan playing on a sponsor exemption, also finished at 18 after a 64.

Kris Kim , a 16-year old amateur making his PGA Tour debut, had a rough finish as the youngest to play a final round on tour in 10 years.

Playing his final nine on the front, the son of South Korean-born former LPGA Tour player Ji-Hyun Suh had four bogeys and shot 73 to finish 6 under.

Kim, who is from England, played on a sponsor exemption from the South Korean company and tournament title sponsor CJ Group.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PGA TOUR Stat Leaders 2024

Statistics are updated nightly

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2024 PGA Championship odds, field: Surprising PGA picks from advanced golf model that nailed 11 majors

Sportsline's proven model simulated the pga championship 2024 10,000 times and revealed its pga golf picks for valhalla golf club.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will try to maintain his torrid pace when he heads to Valhalla Golf Club for the 2024 PGA Championship, which begins on Thursday, May 16. Scheffler won the Masters in April before notching his fourth win in five tournaments when he won the RBC Heritage. The last two PGA champions at Valhalla were No. 1 in the rankings, as Rory McIlroy won in 2014 and Tiger Woods won in 2000. Scheffler is the 3-1 favorite in the 2024 PGA Championship odds, sitting ahead of McIlroy (6-1) and defending champion Brooks Koepka (10-1).

Ludvig Aberg and Xander Schauffele are close behind at 12-1 in the 2024 PGA Championship field. Which golfers should you target with your 2024 PGA Championship picks? Before locking in any 2024 PGA Championship picks of your own, entering PGA DFS lineups on sites like DraftKings or FanDuel, or finalizing PGA Championship props and PGA Championship Pick Six entries, be sure to see the 2024 PGA Championship golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine .

Our proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up almost $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure's model correctly predicted Scottie Scheffler would finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2024 Masters, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and The Players Championship this season. McClure also included Hideki Matsuyama in his best bets to win the 2024 Genesis Invitational. That bet hit at +9000, and for the entire tournament, McClure's best bets returned nearly $1,000.

The model also predicted Jon Rahm would be victorious at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. At the 2023 Masters, the model was all over Rahm's second career major victory heading into the weekend. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the third round, but the model still projected him as the winner. It was the second straight Masters win for the model, which also nailed Scheffler winning in 2022.

In addition, McClure's best bets included Nick Taylor (70-1) winning the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Jason Day (17-1) winning outright at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson, and Rickie Fowler (14-1) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

This same model has also nailed a whopping 11 majors entering the weekend and hit the Masters three straight years. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now with the PGA Championship 2024 field taking shape, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard .

Top 2024 PGA Championship predictions 

One major surprise the model is calling for at the 2024 PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka, a three-time PGA champion and one of the top favorites, stumbles and doesn't even crack the top 10. Koepka has five major tournament wins on his resume and a reputation for elevating his level of play in big events. However, his last two major starts haven't gone well as he was 45th at the Masters, which followed a 64th-place finish at last year's Open Championship. He's failed to shoot par in each of his last seven rounds at major tournaments.

After notching three tournament wins in 2023, including last year's PGA Championship, it has been tough sledding for Koepka in 2024. He has no victories, or even top-fives, and across his six starts, he has three times as many finishes outside the top 25 (three) as he has inside the top 10 (one). He played Valhalla at the 2014 PGA Championship and finished in a tie for 15th place, but that placement ranks just eighth out of his 11 career PGA Championship starts. See who else to fade here .

Another surprise: Bryson DeChambeau, a 25-1 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 30-year-old finished tied for fourth at last year's PGA Championship, finishing just six strokes behind Koepka. He is four years removed from his first major championship at the 2020 U.S. Open, when he finished six strokes ahead of runner-up Matthew Wolff.

DeChambeau was at the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes at Augusta National last month before ultimately finishing tied for sixth place. He has finished fourth twice at this event (2020 and 2023) and now has five top-eight finishes at major tournaments in his career. The eight-time winner on the PGA Tour can drive the ball further than anyone else in the sport, so he has the tools needed to win another major.  See who else to back here .

How to make 2024 PGA Championship picks

The model is also targeting four other golfers with odds of 25-1 or longer to make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these longshots could hit it big. You can only see the model's picks here .

Who will win the 2024 PGA Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the PGA Championship 2024 odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected PGA Championship leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 11 golf majors, including the last three Masters .

2024 PGA Championship odds, field

Get full 2024 PGA Championship picks, best bets, and predictions here

Scottie Scheffler +300 Rory McIlroy +600 Brooks Koepka +1000 Xander Schauffele +1200 Ludvig Aberg +1200 Jon Rahm +1400 Joaquin Niemann +2500 Collin Morikawa +2500 Bryson DeChambeau +2500 Wyndham Clark +2500 Patrick Cantlay +2800 Cameron Smith +3300 Max Homa +3300 Viktor Hovland +3500 Hideki Matsuyama +3500 Will Zalatoris +4000 Justin Thomas +4000 Tommy Fleetwood +4500 Dustin Johnson +4500 Cameron Young +5000 Jason Day +5000 Matt Fitzpatrick +5000 Tyrrell Hatton +5000 Jordan Spieth +5500 Tony Finau +5500 Patrick Reed +6000 Byeong Hun An +6000 Sam Burns +6000 Shane Lowry +6000 Tom Kim +6000 Sungjae Im +6500 Dean Burmester +6500 Sahith Theegala +6500 Abraham Ancer +7000 Min Woo Lee +7500 Brian Harman +7500 Talor Gooch +8000 Keegan Bradley +8500 Akshay Bhatia +8500 Russell Henley +8500 Adam Scott +8500 Sepp Straka +8500 Si Woo Kim +9000 Tiger Woods +12500 David Puig +12500 Corey Conners +12500 Rickie Fowler +12500 Stephan Jaeger +12500 Denny McCarthy +12500 Phil Mickelson +12500 Jake Knapp +12500 Chris Kirk +12500 Billy Horschel +12500 Sergio Garcia +12500 Taylor Pendrith +12500 Adrian Meronk +12500 Austin Eckroat +15000 Mackenzie Hughes +15000 Alex Noren +15000 Harris English +15000 Matthieu Pavon +15000 Ryan Fox +15000 Adrian Otaegui +15000 Justin Rose +17500 Adam Schenk +17500 Keith Mitchell +17500 Mito Pereira +17500 Kurt Kitayama +17500 Daniel Berger +17500 Christiaan Bezuidenhout +17500 Emiliano Grillo +17500 Lucas Herbert +17500 Tom Hoge +17500 Victor Perez +17500 Erik Van Rooyen +17500 Lucas Glover +17500 Nicolai Hojgaard +20000 Eric Cole +20000 Jordan Smith +20000 Thomas Pieters +20000 J.T. Poston +20000 Thomas Detry +22500 Ryan Van Velzen +22500 Cam Davis +22500 Thriston Lawrence +22500 Beau Hossler +22500 Aaron Rai +22500 Ben Griffin +22500 Nick Taylor +22500 Alex Smalley +22500 Brendon Todd +25000 Maverick McNealy +25000 Luke List +25000 Nick Dunlap +25000 Davis Riley +25000 Adam Hadwin +25000 Marc Leishman +25000 Seamus Power +25000 Ryo Hisatsune +27500 Matt Wallace +27500 Andrew Putnam +27500 Andy Ogletree +27500 Patrick Rodgers +30000 Doug Ghim +30000 Taylor Moore +30000 Sebastian Soderberg +30000 Adam Svensson +30000 Rasmus Hojgaard +30000 Robert MacIntyre +30000 Gary Woodland +30000 Lee Hodges +30000 Ben Kohles +30000 K.H. Lee +30000 Camillo Villegas +35000 Alejandro Tosti +35000 Taylor Montgomery +35000 Vincent Norrman +35000 Jesper Svensson +35000 Tim Widing +35000 Charley Hoffman +40000 Mark Hubbard +40000 Keita Nakajima +40000 Zac Blair +50000 Francisco Molinari +50000 Joel Dahmen +50000 Peter Malnati +50000 Sami Valimaki +50000 Takumi Kanaya +50000 Grayson Murray +50000 Alexander Bjork +50000 Martin Kaymer +75000 Kazuma Kobori +75000 Brice Garnett +75000 Michael Block +75000 Padraig Harrington +75000 Luke Donald +75000 Jimmy Walker +75000 Y.E. Yang +100000 Jason Dufner +100000 John Daly +150000 Wyatt Worthington IV +150000 Tyler Collet +200000 Matt Dobyns +200000 Josh Speight +200000 Braden Shattuk +200000 Brad Marek +200000 Tracy Phillips +200000 Evan Bowser +200000 Josh Bevell +200000 Larkin Gross +200000 Rich Beem +200000 Zac Oakley +200000 Jeremy Wells +200000 Preston Cole +200000 John Somers +200000 Ben Polland +200000 Kyle Mendoza +200000 Jared Jones +200000 Shaun Micheel +200000 Jeff Kellen +200000 Jesse Mueller +200000 Andy Svoboda +200000

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How driving distance has changed over the past 40 years on the pga tour.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his shot from the tenth tee during the second round of the 2022 PGA Championship at the Southern Hills on May 20, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)

We Can Learn from Rory's Admission; Make Sure The Changes You’re Making Fit Your Golf Game

Hit it Longer off the Tee with Joanna Coe

Adding Distance Off the Tee Like Cameron Champ Will Help Your Golf Game

Year - average distance (yards) | leader - leader's average.

• 2023 - 297.2 | Leader: Rory McIlroy - 326.6
• 2022 - 299.8 | Leader: Cameron Champ - 321.4
• 2021 - 295.3 | Leader: Bryson DeChambeau - 320.8
• 2020 - 296.4 | Leader: Bryson DeChambeau - 322.1
• 2019 - 293.9 | Leader: Cameron Champ - 317.9
• 2018 - 295.29 | Leader: Trey Mullinax - 318
• 2017 - 292.79 | Leader: Rory McIlroy - 316.7
• 2016 - 291.06 | Leader: J.B. Holmes - 314.5
• 2015 - 290.21 | Leader: Dustin Johnson - 317.7
• 2014 - 289.85 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 314.3
• 2013 - 288.00 | Leader: Luke List - 306.3
• 2012 - 290.07 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 315.5
• 2011- 291.14 | Leader: J.B. Holmes - 318.4
• 2010 - 287.49 | Leader: Robert Garrigus - 315.5
• 2009 - 288.07 | Leader: Robert Garrigus - 312
• 2008 - 287.74 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 315.1
• 2007 - 289.08 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 315.2
• 2006 - 289.35 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 319.6
• 2005 - 288.88 | Leader: Scott Hend- 318.9
• 2004 - 287.32 | Leader: Hank Kuehne - 314.4
• 2003 - 286.30 | Leader: Hank Kuehne - 321.4
• 2002 - 279.84 | Leader: John Daly - 306.8
• 2001 - 279.35 | Leader: John Daly - 306.7
• 2000 - 273.18| Leader: John Daly - 301.4
• 1999 - 272.45 | Leader: John Daly - 305.6
• 1998 - 270.63 | Leader: John Daly - 299.4
• 1997 - 267.67 | Leader: John Daly - 302
• 1996 - 266.49 | Leader: John Daly - 288.8
• 1995 - 263.55 | Leader: John Daly - 289
• 1994 - 261.84 | Leader: Davis Love III - 283.8
• 1993 - 260.36 | Leader: John Daly - 288.9
• 1992 - 260.52 | Leader: John Daly - 283.4
• 1991 - 261.44 | Leader: John Daly - 288.9
• 1990 - 262.75 | Leader: Tom Purtzer - 279.6
• 1989 - 261.81 | Leader: Ed Humenik - 280.9
• 1988 - 263.50 | Leader: Steve Thomas - 284.6
• 1987 - 262.50 | Leader: John McComish - 283.9
• 1986 - 261.58 | Leader: Davis Love III - 285.7
• 1985 - 260.18 | Leader: Andy Bean - 278.2
• 1984 - 259.61 | Leader: Bill Glasson - 276.5
• 1983 - 258.65 | Leader: John McComish - 277.4
• 1982 - 256.89 | Leader: Bill Calfee - 275.3
• 1981 - 259.66 | Leader: Dan Pohl - 280.1
• 1980 - 256.89 | Leader: Dan Pohl - 274.3

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Heralded by fans, peers and publications alike, Jack not only reached heights in the golf world that had never been reached, but he transcends sports, as one of the most admired and respected champions in the world. Jack played in a record 154 consecutive major championships for which he was eligible from the 1957 U.S. Open to the 1998 U.S Open.

1963 Masters winner, with Palmer

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1975 Masters-Willie Peterson

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1966 Masters celebration

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1975 Masters

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Champions tour earnings: $3,372,207.

1991 Tradition final rOUND

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Michael Block ready for PGA Championship spotlight one year after everything changed

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Michael Block arrives at this week’s PGA Championship as anything but a yeoman. A self-described “Joe Schmo” no more. Now he’s one of the headliners at Valhalla Golf Club, his 15 minutes of fame given a second wind by his return to the major that made him an instant celebrity.

He is sandwiched on Tuesday’s interview schedule between Max Homa and Tiger Woods, and the subject of both an ESPN feature and a documentary that will air on CBS before the third round. What Block will do for an encore is one of the questions heading into Thursday’s first round at Valhalla Golf Club.

It’s a stark contrast from last year, when he was just another one of the 20 club professionals in the field. It’s a contingent that plays an important role in the championship, but whose competitive prospects are understandably low. These are men for whom tournament golf is a side gig – something they have to balance with their day jobs – thrown into the gauntlet against the best players in the world. Block, 47, was the only PGA pro to make the 36-hole cut at Oak Hill last year.

Two days later, he was receiving almost as much attention as winner Brooks Koepka because of a quasi-miraculous finish that ensured him a spot in this year’s championship. Playing alongside Rory McIlroy, Block made a hole-in-one on No. 15 and a miraculous up-and-down from well left of the 18th green, all of it punctuated by an 8-foot par putt. The top 15 finishers would be invited to this year’s PGA Championship, and Block finished T15.

Michael Block gets up-and-down to finish in the top 15 at the PGA Championship

In the months after Oak Hill, Block signed sponsorship deals with TaylorMade, Cisco, Raising Cane’s and Michelob Ultra, to name a few. He hung out with F1 drivers and celebrity chef Jose Andres and became good friends with DJ Khaled. Block made appearances with Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Max Homa. It’s been a year of unbelievable opportunities filled with adulation, but it has also come with criticism. Acclimating to everything has been an adjustment. For 46 years, Block lived one life. Then everything flipped.

“I was just your Joe Schmo club pro guy, a pretty good golfer for club pros in Southern California. That was about it,” he said. “And so I could go anywhere and no one would know me, but then all of a sudden, now I'm rolling around and people that I would never expect to know me stop me. It’s been a strange deal.”

Block insists he hasn’t changed, only the circumstances around him. His friends and family say the same. What Block will admit is that he wasn’t ready. No amount of advice prepared Block to process everything that fame entailed.

The immediate aftermath of the PGA Championship is still a bit blurry. There were brand deals and commercials. He received sponsor exemptions into the Charles Schwab Challenge and the RBC Canadian Open. Everyone wanted a piece of the "Block Party," and the longtime PGA of America professional was happy to oblige.

Players comment on Michael Block's success at PGA Championship

He wasn’t shy about his exposure. He did every TV sitdown, radio hit and podcast. To Block, it was a no-brainer. Why not take advantage of the opportunities coming to him? He jumped at the chance to live a life he never dreamed of.

“I never said no,” Block said.

Count that as a lesson learned. He’s been more selective in the leadup to this year’s PGA Championship, and he is still a bit sour about an overblown reaction to some of his quotes. He could have used a mulligan, he admitted, after his comments on a social media influencer’s podcast. He said he’d card “stupid” numbers if he could play from McIlroy’s tee shots, inferring that it was only a lack of length off the tee that kept him from competing alongside the world’s best.

“I think I'd be one of the best players in the world,” he added. “If I had that stupid length? All day. My iron game, wedge game, around the greens and my putting is world class.”

Block had captured hearts with his “aw, shucks” approach to everything he encountered at Oak Hill. He was overflowing with gratitude, a refreshing contrast to a world overflowing with cynicism. But his comments undercut that, making him sound brash. That wasn’t his intent, though.

“I probably shouldn’t have said it,” Block told PGATOUR.COM in January, insisting he was trying to illustrate how impressive the current pro game is. Regardless, it was a wake-up call. A people-pleaser by nature, Block learned that’s not possible with any level of fame.

He’s become content to lose that battle.

“The internet can be a little brutal,” he said. “And at the beginning, I got hurt by a couple things that I'd be looking at – comments and stuff like that. And that hurt because I'd never seen anyone really talk bad about me before. And I'm like, ‘Who are you guys? You never met me.'”

It has been important to differentiate what he sees online from what he feels in everyday life. Block gets recognized daily. It happens at the grocery store, on the golf course, and everywhere in between. Fans ask for pictures and videos and recall where they were when Block made his ace at Oak Hill’s 15th. He can’t make it through dinner without being interrupted by well-wishers, and the autograph seekers have been lined up after his rounds in the six pro events, including the Australian Open, he’s played since Oak Hill.

PGA Professional Michael Block’s ace leads Shots of the Week

“The positives are 95% compared to 5% of a whole bunch of haters that hate on everything possible,” Block said. “So I've understood that now. It took me a little bit of time to figure that out.”

Block finished T27 in Australia but missed the cut in all five TOUR starts he’s made in the past 12 months. Two of those starts came on sponsor exemptions, the other three were the result of his continued dominance in the Southern California PGA. Block has been named the section’s Player of the Year in 10 of the past 11 years. He also was the PGA Professional Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023.

Michael Block saves par from bridge at Charles Schwab

There are moments when he wishes he could turn it off, but mostly, he’s just grateful. He always wanted to do what he did at Oak Hill, contend as a club pro. He just didn’t imagine it would lead to this.

As he finished his second round at the Farmers Insurance Open, a disappointing 76 to miss the cut by four, Block stayed for 30 minutes signing autographs. That’s where he’s at his best, interacting with and entertaining the crowd.

Al Geiberger Jr., son of the former PGA Championship winner, was Block’s caddie for the week. “It's been one of the more surreal, cool experiences, seeing someone I'm so close with go through this,” said Geiberger, a club pro in Palm Desert, California. He met Block more than a dozen years ago, and they have become close friends. “It's something we've all known about him and so the rest of the world can finally get to see it and enjoy who he is – an awesome, fun, real dude.”

Block’s popularity soared in the days following the PGA Championship. He gained more than 250,000 followers on Instagram. Along with traditional sponsors, Block signed a deal with the uber-popular YouTube golf group GoodGood. Block has appeared in their videos and wears their apparel. His social media feed has morphed from videos of junior lessons at Arroyo Trabuco to a smattering of podcast interview clips and sponsored posts. Block’s co-workers at the club have dubbed him “the club’s pro,” poking fun at his schedule that now often mirrors a PGA TOUR player. Block joked that he might change his business card.

His job won’t change, though. Block is under no illusions he will be a TOUR player, though he expressed interest in PGA TOUR Champions once he turns 50. He balanced a competitive playing schedule and club pro duties long before Oak Hill. Block has made 30 PGA TOUR starts in his career, mainly as a section qualifier from the Southern California PGA.

Block earned his way into The American Express and Farmers as Southern California PGA section champion. It’s how he prefers it. Sponsor exemptions are great – Block has one for next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge – but it’s eminently more gratifying to earn it through his play. It’s why the satisfaction of his T15 at the PGA Championship was so immense. He earned his spot at Valhalla this week, along with everything else.

Michael Block on what the future holds after performance at PGA Championship

That week at Oak Hill has stuck with him. When he plays competitively, he often thinks back to shots he hit during that week. There’s the “little Oak Hill 7-iron,” the shot he dunked for the infamous hole-in-one on the 15th hole. He plays that one often, having found it’s a helpful swing thought to avoid a left miss. There’s the famous pitch shot from greenside on the 18th, after which he made the 8-footer for par to punch his ticket to Valhalla. He calls upon that memory when in a tough spot.

Michael Block on offers to sell 7-iron after PGA Championship ace

The lasting memory from the week was not on the course. It was the celebration afterward with friends and family, singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” back at their rental house in Rochester after everyone had enjoyed a few too many drinks. There will be upwards of 40 friends and family in attendance at Valhalla, watching Block make his encore.

Maybe he will surprise the world again. Or maybe he won’t. It doesn’t matter much to Block.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think the last year was going to go how it did,” Block said. “This is all a bonus.”

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